As the diagnostic imaging apparatus is developed, it is now easy to diagnose various diseases. For example, it is possible to easily make diagnosis by using the diagnostic imaging apparatus for lumbar herniation of intervertebral disk, spondylolytic spondylolisthesis, spondylosis deformans, OPLL (Ossification of Posterior Longitudinal Ligament), spinal stenosis, neoplasm, and other external injuries. The causes of various diseases have been also clarified owing to the utilization of the diagnostic imaging apparatus. For example, it has been revealed that most of the diseases included in the so-called acute low back pain are caused by occurrence of any rupture in the outer layer of lumbar intervertebral disk due to repeated working and exercise or small trauma.
However, there are still diseases for which their causes cannot be clarified even when the diagnostic imaging apparatus is used. Those known as such diseases include, for example, the cervico-omo-brachial syndrome and the low back pain. There are a variety of symptoms of these diseases. The symptoms of the cervico-omo-brachial syndrome include, for example, scapular region pain, headache, facial pain, pain in lateral cervical region, pain in trapezius muscle, shoulder stiffness, tenderness, pain in shoulder, pain in upper arm, pain in forearm, pain and numbness in finger, backache, pain in spinous process of thoracic vertebra, intercostal neuralgia, pain in anterior region of neck, stuff up feeling in throat, chest pain, palpitation, tightening pain around thoracic vertebral column, pain like fracture of rib, and nuchal pain by sleeping. The symptoms of the low back pain include, for example, pain in iliac crest, gluteal region, and sacrum, lumbar myalgia, pain in spinous process of lumbar vertebra, abdominal pain, inguinal region pain, pain in hip joint, pain in femoral region, pain in knee and lower leg, bather's cramp, pain in calcaneal region, and pain and numbness in dorsal and plantar side of foot.
The present inventor has practiced as a doctor and diagnosed a large number of patients having completely different symptoms such as those of the cervico-omo-brachial syndrome and the low back pain described above. During this experience, it has been noticed that a tender point (portion at which the pain is caused by being pressed) exists at a definite level between the thoracic vertebra of the human body separately from the pain region complained by the patient. It has been found that this tender point is caused by any subluxation of the zygapophyseal joint (or facet joint) between the third and fourth vertebras, between the fourth and fifth vertebras, between the tenth and eleventh vertebras, or between the eleventh and twelfth vertebras of the thoracic vertebra due to torsion, i.e., any damage of the zygapophyseal joint of the thoracic vertebra (FIG. 5 shows a side view and a back view of the vertebral column of human body for reference). Further, the tender point disappears, and the pain complained by the patient is mitigated by redressing the subluxation of the zygapophyseal joint between the third and fourth vertebras, the zygapophyseal joint between the fourth and fifth vertebras, the zygapophyseal joint between the tenth and eleventh vertebras, or the zygapophyseal joint between the eleventh and twelfth vertebras of the thoracic vertebra. Accordingly, it has been found out that the damage of the zygapophyseal joint of the thoracic vertebra is one of the causes of the cervico-omo-brachial pain and the lumber pain. Especially, the cervico-omo-brachial pain is often caused by the subluxation of the zygapophyseal joint between the third and fourth vertebras of the thoracic vertebra or the joint between the fourth and fifth vertebras of the thoracic vertebra. Further, the lumber pain is often caused by the subluxation of the zygapophyseal joint between the tenth and eleventh vertebras of the thoracic vertebra or the zygapophyseal joint between the eleventh and twelfth vertebras of the thoracic vertebra.
The present inventor has made the following medical treatment in order to redress the damage of the zygapophyseal joint of the thoracic vertebra. At first, the patient is seated on a stable chair. The left shoulder is fixed by the left hand of the therapist, while examination is made by touch with the right hand to detect the spinous processes of the third to fifth thoracic vertebras or the tenth to twelfth thoracic vertebras. The detected spinous processes of the third to fifth thoracic vertebras or the tenth to twelfth thoracic vertebras are repeatedly pressed several times. The redressment is completed by sensing the click sound by touch during the pressing treatment.
However, when the number of patients was increased, the present inventor sometimes failed to quickly respond to the requests of all of the patients, because the present inventor made the medical treatment by means of direct redressment by hand. It was indispensable to rely on the examination by touch by the therapist in order to detect the affected part, i.e., the position of the third to fifth thoracic vertebras or the tenth to twelfth thoracic vertebras. Therefore, a skillful technique was required, and it took a long time to perform the medical treatment as well.
A massage machine is known, which is used to mitigate, for example, the shoulder discomfort and the muscle fatigue by massaging or striking the back of the human body with a pressing member such as a roller and a sphere. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-75413 discloses a massage machine for measuring hardness of muscle with a muscle hardness meter and detecting a hard region such as stiffness to perform massage in a concentrated manner. However, such a conventional massage machine discloses no means for detecting the position of the thoracic vertebra at all. Such a massage machine is used to loosen and mitigate the stiffness and the muscle fatigue, which cannot be applied to the medical treatment for the cervico-omo-brachial pain and the low back pain by redressing the damage of the zygapophyseal joint of the thoracic vertebra.
The present invention has been made taking such viewpoints into consideration, an object of which is to provide a pressing medical treatment apparatus which makes it possible to redress the damage of the zygapophyseal joint of the thoracic vertebra by pressing a specified region of the thoracic vertebra instead of a therapist.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pressing medical treatment apparatus which makes it possible to automatically detect a specified region of the thoracic vertebra so that the specified region is pressed to treat various symptoms based on the damage of the zygapophyseal joint of the thoracic vertebra.